Tell us something about the history of your item--a little education please.

And if you have a special story about it, share that too (or make one up)! :-)Please post my blog party title and link on you Web site.My plan is to showcase a few treasures on Sundays--think I'll start out with two parties each month. The first Vintage View Sundaywill be on

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

As I was cleaning and organizing today, I found one of my prized possessions,

this wonderful 1834 sheet music for a quadrille dance from

"Rossini's admired Opera, La Gazza Ladra." Isn't
the writing lovely? The whole piece is so well-preserved, probably
because of the high rag content of the paper. It feels quite
fabric-like.

Inked in the corner in a very lovely style is the owner's name,
Mary W. Alsop, April 15, 1834.
Was she a lovely young woman, accomplished but unattached?
Or a spinster who lost her beau before they could be married and never loved another?
I wonder...

"La Gazza Ladra" is Italian for "The Thieving Magpie," a very famous opera according to my composer husband. This piece was arranged for the piano forte:

which was smaller than a piano and had fewer keys. The sound was softer and "bouncier" as there was no way to sustain the sound of the notes with pedals as on a modern piano. Can't you just see sweet Mary sitting at the piano forte in her rose satin gown plunking happily?Wikipedia describes the quadrille as a very intricate dance, a precursor to the square dance, with specific forms for each of its five parts.

Part 1: Le Pantelon, or "The trousers" (always in 2/4 or 6/8):

Part 2: Ete or "Summer" (always in 2/4):

Part 3: Poule or "Hen" (always in 6/8):

Part 4: La Pastourelle or "The Shepherd Girl" (always in 2/4):

Part 5: Finale (always in 2/4):

Of course named in French, the language of the upper class.

The instructions for dancing the quadrille are written at the bottom of each page:

Can't you just imagine the beautiful clothes, polished faces, and the rustling of petticoats and tapping of boots as dancers turn and move in and about,longing eyes gazing in a crowded room. Are you in the mood for dancing yet?

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

I'm trying to get over a nasty cold, so I haven't made a New Year's project that's been swirling around in my head. It requires an image from the Graphics Fairy, and both of my printers are out of ink, so I'll have to go to Office Depot if they are open today... sigh... BUT! I really want to ring in the New Year with this project, so I'm downing the Advil, Benedryl, hot tea, etc. and will try to get up a new post for the project.

In the meantime, I have one last remnant of Christmas for you. Tried my
hand at a quick digital card designed with Graphics Fairy music and
angel images. Added a sentiment, printed, trimmed and rounded the corners (the gray is just background of the picture). Really quick. With
a change of sentiment, this card could appropriately be used for
sympathy, get well, or a general greeting.